 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Hepatitis / December 2005Hi, and Happy Holiday's (first post)
Hi, lurking here for well over a year. You are all very informative and thanks for that. You also seem very close knit and friendly. I thought I would post and (briefly) say Hi, and wish you all Happy Holiday's. I was going to post before, wrote several long things, then deleted them. I'm a family guy, living in Illinois. I did some Army time in Germany in early '70's. Wondered if there are any other Vet's here and if they are getting their treatment from the V.A.? Long story short as you've heard it already. I was trying to sell plasma in 92 ( I spent a lot of time all over Hell and on the road, up until then) and they told me Un-Uh. At that time I showed anti's for both B & C. Since then I got married and we have a beautiful son (8 y.o. and my pride and joy. Without getting long winded, it was one of those true love things, where, after I tested pos. I felt dirty and didn't think she would want to see me again. but she did. She also told me she right off, no children. That she couldn't get pregnant. (You know that tangled up in Blue song? Married when we first met...soon to be divorced?) Beats me, but anyway i was worried sick. because of our age we had to go through the ambio. Both the Ambio and ultrasound showed a most perfect normal child. ( http://tinyurl.com/beznr ) neither her or him ever tested pos. And since then, the B has disappeared. Kind of like OpenBookMan, (though I suspect not as severe. OBM you have my regards, Sir.) I get a steady diet of narc's, for spinal injury. But I keep pretty busy working in the studio and making a home. One of my reg. VA doc's retired, so some ten years after...I got a new one. He seemed to be a lot stricter. (I'm starting to appreciate that now.) So, all of a sudden he starts all these new programs for me, one of them is addressing the hep. I'm kind of wondering why, but on the other hand, I want to see my son grow up, and him and I just finished spending the week-end with my two year old grandson (his nephew :- ) So..anyway..and man do I feel like I'm butting in on you all...he sends me to the clinic a 100 miles away. They do some draws in Sept. (up until then just draws at the local every six mo's to monitor.) but this is for real (Sept.) the results came back Q positive and geno 2. I think the v count was something like 1/2 mil. Then I went back about a month later for work up. They told me the ultrasound of Liver and Spleen looked good. (But to tell you what it looked like to me when the tech had me sit up and I glanced at the screen (and wow, what progress they have made since I saw the US of my son in womb) it looked like Spunky's twin, from Elmo's family Album pages. (Thanks for those smiles in some down moments) Really, it looked like a big gaping hole in center of my liver worse, but then what do I know, I'm just a lay guy=Wondering. Then, thanks, mostly to you people here, about a month after that the biopsy went real smooth. (thanks, because I knew what to expect.) They did it and I slept (it was long drive there.) the complete time I was to lay still. I had to stay over night, which was kind of cool, because I got travel pay for it. What sucked was it was one of the first nights I ever had to stay away from my son all night as I'm a sahd (and a pretty darn good cook also!) I didn't have to do the MMPI as some authority people wanted to force me into that a few years back but the admin shrink told them because I have a mild to mod TBI then the (according to the dsm) couldn't apply. (maybe helpful to someone somewhere) But I'm pretty sure I can handle the up's and downs just being what I've already been thru in life. And I'm ready to slay the Dragon. Or, hope to make the attempt anyways. (quitting cigarettes is proving to be a bitch though, I have the patches, but not the guts to put them on, I've been smoking for 44 years now. Starting with Pall Mall shorts ripped from parents trays.) And it ain't like life is a bowl of cherries now anyway. Sorry, about getting long winded. (not as long as my other deleted knights in white satin.) Just wanted to drop in and intro and thank you all and wish you all best Holidays from me and from us. I have visited a lot of your sites. the Canada scenes make me want to travel there. I've been feeling both your joy (I think her name was Julie? that recently posted clear? And sorrow (especially the loss of the pet) but those that are not responding and how supportive the rest are. I do believe in Karma. Guess you could call me an old Hippie. Or Rocker. (Oh yeah, thanks for that tip on the PBS 'Cream' tour. It was hot, and I think Ginger looked great. blind Faith was one of my fav's anyway.) So, I've finally got around to posting...if I push send and it goes. I hope you don't mind. me posting and all. One thing will be interesting, once I get the results of (a lot of prior hard drinking and party the a.s off lifestyle that Timothy Leary might have enjoyed) I've been on a very steady diet of Maitake as they grow here in the yard (we way out in boonies) thus the handle. There is a picture on my blog of part of this years haul. If anyone wants to try I'd be happy to make available for free (if not this year then next) to anyone wanting them. Although I have several lbs frozen up. I only just this year learned how to dry them, and have several quarts dried. If anyone just wanted to try. We usually get around 50 to 100 lbs a year. http://tinyurl.com/chbot they are really not that common, I just was blessed in building our place in a spot they grow. Anyway, not to get all religious or anything, but it hit me, maybe if I reached the right people that could use them, I could get them there. No strings. I have an email and telephone, just will not post on Usenet. Thisisn't a pitch to sell anything, I just remembered that yes, there was a reason I did want to post. As for the Maitake, I usually add them to hot green tea or use in dishes as I would any other shroom. Before I found out about their supposedly medicinal properties and use in immunity system research they were just another delicacy to me. Like morels, or oysters. But from what I've researched the herb doc's recommend 6 grams a day so I've been doing at least that. (beats the 12 pack a day I used to do) But I do know my shrooms, lord knows I've picked enough off of cow patties in Texas, when I was younger. The Hen's only grow on the bottom of the Black Oaks, and only in certain geographical area's. Here, and in Asia. You can purchase them on the net I guess. But I'm not out to sell, and never have bought any from the net.OK, now that I've put you to sleep...Happy Holiday's. And if you want to see what I do on the side (and it won't come in because Netscape sucks... http://tinyurl.com/s1d9 then click on the link (page2.html) that leads to our art pages. I'm the old fart in the rocking chair. I don't know how...but if there is anyway, that I can help out here..I will try. And it isn't like you haven't already lead the way. That I really respect. peace and wishing all of you the best. den (for real, 2005) Den - Thanks for sharing - Welcome to the NG. I haven't been here long and until the last few days, not very active being on tx until 10 days ago w/ all my uptime spent working. Sounds like my story except for some of the details. No service, a daughter from my phsyco ex, whom I will never forgive. Happily married now for over ten years to my favorite bartender from 1979-1980 and we are still madly in love with each other. Sober for 12.5 years. I don't know Jack about shrooms except that they were slimy and a good time in the 70's. Now they are just good food from the grocery store. Here in Indiana people hunt Morel's (don't think i've eaten one though I've been her since 1991. I only lurked for about a week. Clean since 1988, except for a little MJ which I started on my first round of tx about 8 years ago. No spleen since 1988. Geno 1a, and F3 fibrosis. Also ignorant about MMPI & TBI. Stopped round 2 of tx 10 days ago (nonresponsive). starting to feel pretty good with the Infergen & Ribaviran fading. Hell, just starting to feel without the Celexa is a fantastic thing. I hate that poison - makes me feel like the walking dead man who likes to sleep alot. But my BCLD wouldn't start tx without it, funny he wouldn't prescribe it. Anyway I plan to takes 6 or seven months and get prepared for round 3 of tx with a more informed and flexible approach, most likely with a new BCLD. I also need to eliminate the smokes - I have found that the lozenges help to cut down quite abit they give your mouth some to do for about 45 minutes, kinda taste like smoke (which I honestly I don't know what your biopsy results was but assume it is serious. Having hvb antibodies with no hbv virus is a good thing (half assed informed opinion) like a vaccination. Consider a vaccination for Hep A? It is so easy to get and so potentially serious for us HCV pos folks. >From what I read G2 is pretty responsive to tx. Sorry you have deal with the VA, from what I hear the hassle can be very frustating - the American Liver Foundation can act as an advocte for you in this regard, or so I have been told by some who have acheived SVR dealing with the VA. Tx sucks but my mom died of end stage Parkinsons, my dad of end stage Alzheimers, very nasty. ESLD must also be very nasty. Three of the top 5 ways I never wan't to go, the other 2 being drunk or an active addict. So I will keep my Kevorkian kit. Go for the tx, plan your medication around your son's schedule. Take naps while he's in school? Teach him to cook if you haven't already. Share what your going through with him so he knows for certain that your sides are not you withdrawing from him because you love him less. Kids tend to assume its their fault. Prepare him and your wife ahead of time if you can. Communicate as much as you can now and on tx. During my tx I really didn't want to talk much to anyone. The last few days I can't shut up. Being off tx is good. Being off the antidepressant they made me take is wonderful. I cry sometimes just having feelings. I hate antidepressants but the first time on tx after about 30 weeks without it I did start to wonder what it would feel like to just floor it & close my eyes on I-65 on my way to work. Life was starting to get really good then too so i can't say I was suicidal. Just wanted to feel something different. So I started them at that point - hated them then -hate them now. Now I seem to have this insomnia thing going on which is OK, I hope it doesn't last too long tho. The good news - yesterday was 12/25, my in-laws & daughter + boyfreind were here (daughter age 24 self-absorbed, full of sh.t, habitually tardy, can't figure out if she bi, gay or straight, came to see me twice on tx, lived four blocks away for the a month & 1/2 of the first 12 weeks of 2nd tx which was pretty nasty). But hey - my daughter - I love her and always will. 12/25 was a good day. Made love to my wife for the first time in over a year - She had serious gastro issues for several months which finally turned out to be a gall bladder problem. Gall bladder gone, she's so much better, then I start tx and sex wasn't even a fantasy. 12/25 was a really good day. Back to you - Go for tx, slay the dragon if you can, prepare your family, read the NG posts, post your questions, post your reactions and problems with the tx - others need to hear about it and it will help someone, even if it only helps one person, you've done a wonderful thing. Hell just post something to stir the shitpot - it's kinda fun! Wishing you, peace, love, and an SVR, Steve Steve...thanks for the Welcome. If not for you I wouldn't know what BCLD is. I plan on impressing mine next time I see them (Jan 17) That's when I'll find out the results of the biopsy. I don't think it will be that serious. I could be wrong, but I keep faith and will let you know. It sounds as if you have a lot of good things going for you. You gave up the drink. You hooked up with a psycho-therapist. And you have family. (hey, I can relate about the Daughter part, mine is 22 and would have drove me nuts if I wasn't already there long ago. here is a picture of us last night (Christmas Eve) that is here Son in my arms, and my son next to him. She, Foxy Roxy is to my right. http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d78/billgarhead/damon1a.jpg Everything changes, Steve. Usually for better. About the shrooms..the maitake is an edible. You can find a lot about it on the net. Here is a link to an article that says "you shouldn't eat them if you've started interferon:" http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/maitake.php but there are a million links to the Hen Of the Woods. I haven't started tx yet. But have been eating these for at least since 1992. Unlike the morels which we hunt a lot of they come out in the fall and late summer. And they weigh from a pound to thirty pounds. I'm not into Holistic health or herbs. I just found it coincidental that some of these fungi I was eating might be good for something I probably picked up in Army (who knows, I've been around) I haven't done the trippers for a long time though (maybe '85?) But last time I talked to the BCLD at the V.A. Hospital and she was asking me about drug usage. "Do you smoke pot?" and I answered: "you know that is something I really miss, smoking pot." She matter of factly told me she hears that more from Veteran's than any thing else." Of course we had to go thru the whole battery of questions, she informed me that we can get hep from snorting coke from a straw or rolled up bill." Jeesh..like we can't get it from crud in jail cells, handcuffs, biting off each other ears or blah blah blah?!? Some people lead very sheltered lives. A TBI is a brain injury, mild to moderate and non organic, is a trauma brain injury... like being whacked in the head to much, like a lot of accidents, fights, billyclubs but not severe enough to affect actions as much as one's focus, so the MMPI wouldn't work if they were trying to dx for being incapable. (Most of the establishment's hoodoo is geared to that.) Don't know about the Hep A vac. I always ask my kidlet's ped about it for him, but they don't think it's ness. Myself, all those junkies in my barracks room in the '70's got all jaundiced, hospitalized and all that, I was the only one that didn't. I 'm not going to say that is where I picked up hep because I don't know. heck there have been many wives and a hundreds of lovers since then. I sold blood Coast to Coast up until 1992 when I went to sell Plasma. At that time i was living in a trailer park that was under boil orders for 4 years. people were dropping off around us like flies. there were leaky underground storage tanks and rumors that the local arsenal had used the place as a dump for toxic waste. The EPA ran tests on the place and pumped diesel fuel out of the ground (on lady had to be moved because they thought her home was going to blow up) that is how it all started. Anyway right after they told me, one of my neighbors confided, (without knowing of my newly discovered condition) and Dave was a really straight family type guy. "You know, I've never done drugs or messed around but I went in for a check-up and my Dr. told me I have hepatitis C." We lived where the water line dead ended. (meaning there was no flush point, what ever was in the lines came out through our faucets. I bought my place from a man that had died in his fifties. So, point being, nobody knows. I've saved all the documentation, and often wonder about that friend and next door neighbor. But there isn't any proving anything. And from crawling around under the trailer in raw sewage, I doubt if I will ever contract Hep A.. Funny as a Chef (many cooking jobs, full control, and owning my own business once, cleanliness is the priority. people think I nag, but I consider it the voice of experience. Yeah, I make my kid wash his hands, and I wash with him. I have seen some pretty yellowed out people at the VA hospital, and everytime I look in the mirror I find myself checking, but I don't think I'll let it bother me. Not now anyway.I learned a long time ago not to tell them you are depressed. There isn't any better way to really get depressed than letting them think they are curing you from depression. That is something we have do ourself's. sh.t their depression ends when they get their paycheck. Joe, just keeps kicking himself. Everything you say and do will be used against you. So work for yourself. Take control and live for tomorrow. And every day there after. You will find someone that will live longer for it if you do. Hey, the VA isn't that bad. they tend to treat us older vets better than the young guys for some reason. maybe because they interned with us. I just hadn't seen anyone post here about the V.A. yet. Mostly we just hang out and make fun of Bush. Yeah, quitting smoking really sucks. But if you have stopped the drink, then you are strong enough to go the whole route. You have support, in your family and here. Now, insomnia? What is that? (-: Hey, hang in there friend. and thanks. Den. > Den - > [quoted text clipped - 87 lines] > Wishing you, peace, love, and an SVR, > Steve Howdy, Shroom Man! Welcome!! elmo http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum Yes ! And Howdy back Elmo! Thanks for the Welcome. I do consider you the web-master and on my cool people list. I guess lurking here so many times your posts made me want to post. I've sent the link to your web sites to several of my non hep friends and wrote it down for heppers I've met at the hospital. Great work. Hey, I like to say this: Happy New Year! den > Howdy, Shroom Man! Welcome!! > elmo > > http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile > > http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum Happy New Year to you too, Dennis. Thanks for your kind words. Glad you and your friends enjoyed the hepfile. It was put together by some wacked out guy doing tx, so it's natural that it has a fractured tilt. :-) I used to pick mushrooms too, but only the psychedelic variety. Would pick em by the shopping bag full and sell em to the tourists in Hawail. They were pretty potent when they were fresh and I'd 'get off' on em just picking them, the dust would absorb thru the skin. Glad you came out of the closet. :-) elmo ///////// Yes ! And Howdy back Elmo! Thanks for the Welcome. I do consider you the web-master and on my cool people list. I guess lurking here so many times your posts made me want to post. I've sent the link to your web sites to several of my non hep friends and wrote it down for heppers I've met at the hospital. Great work. Hey, I like to say this: Happy New Year! den <elmoemerson@webtv.net> wrote in message news:14596-43B146C4-735@storefull-3251.bay.webtv.net... Howdy, Shroom Man! Welcome!! elmo http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum Welcome to our group Den. Nice looking family you have there - I can see why you are so proud of your son. Luckily your G2 with a low viral count. Six months of treatment will fly by for you. You might want to quit smoking - I cannot imagine smoking on tx. There is a support quit smoking group where you can really get bitchy lol oh hell you can get bitchy in here too. All the best on the 17th with your biopsy results. Mags > Welcome to our group Den. Nice looking family you have there - I can > see why you are so proud of your son. Luckily your G2 with a low viral [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Mags Thanks Mags, I feel like I know most of you already. I appreciate the 'Welcome.' And thanks to all of b you. This group seems a bit different than most Usenet groups. More focused but still down to earth. I can live with that. Smoking really sucks. I'll probably follow up on your tip to a support group. It's pretty much a given when attempting to quit or going the patch route (which I am if I get the guts and it will have to be soon as I would like to start the patches before tx. if any.) One thing i have going is my son keeps nagging me, and I keep promising him and telling him what a nasty habit it is.) I've been through a lot of support groups, like AA and Rational Recovery (which is the same program the VA employs) but those were usually always court ordered. so it doesn't fit the same as if one is doing it because they want to, I think. But, in just a 'deep thought's' kind of thing I have to wonder the effects the chemicals involved in smoking has on the liver. You here probably know much about that that. Smoking for 40 years is a long time, but I was a UAW welder for Deere and Case for over ten years. In that time I sucked up more smake than all the cigarettes ever. Plus welding crap that was covered in grease, oil and other carcinogens. I'm sure MOST OF US have had to perform jobs that we were exposed to as in covered, bathed, soaked from head to toe in some chemical or another JUST TO BRING a paycheck home. (my biggie was Trichloroethylene, seemed so many places that I worked used it and made us use it to clean parts and everything visible, including ourselves.) And then you have the normal exposure to pvc's, etc., on top of it. One farmer I used to work for (long before Viet Nam made the term Agent Orange popular) used to give us kids dioxin mixed with diesel fuel to paint trees thathe wanted killed as so he could clear the land. Heck we used to wash up in the stuff and pour it in the Streams just to see the rainbow effect. One of the guy's that I used to work with died a few years back of cancer. It was right after i got my dx, and it started out as a small sore on the back of his ear. It made me remember painting the tree's with him. Forgive me for rambling here, but I can't help but wonder, even though all this exposure to carcinogens can't cause hep. couldn't it lower resistence of the Immune System? I know when the Director (not my own personal Doctor) but the Director of the Liver Clinic asked me if I knew how I contracted hep. C. I kind of had to cock my head and think what an incredibly stupid question. I probably should have told her "Joe gave it to me." (no offense to those named Joe.) Instead I just said "No, how?" Well, Mags, I don't know what in the Hell any of this has to do with someking or Hep, but most of it was typed while taliking with my son about the monsters on his new carmen sandiego disc. And I got on step closer to stopping smoking. thanks ( : den Hi Mags and Maitake. I haven't smoked tobacco since teenhood, so I don't have much experience with how it affects the bod. But I did a quick search of some med lit at pubmed.gov (liver + nicotine) and saw enough to learn that nicotine metabolism in the liver involves the P450 enzyme pathway, which is a major drug metabolism pathway. I think its the same enzyme that gets gummed up when you drink grapefruit juice and messes up other med metabolism. So I'm tempted to speculate that nicotine might interfere with the metabolism of your meds. I'm also guessing that trying to quit smoking while on tx would be horrible mentally and physically - akin to withdrawing from antidepressants or prescription opioids while on tx. Just a thought. Not good news, but maybe it'll help somebody. Kathy >>Mags and Maitake wrote: "mags" <Chillnil@[EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote in message news:1135602721.699000.197130@[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Welcome to our group Den. Nice looking family you have there - I can > see why you are so proud of your son. Luckily your G2 with a low viral > count. Six months of treatment will fly by for you. You might want to > quit smoking - I cannot imagine smoking on tx. There is a support quit > smoking group where you can really get bitchy lol oh hell you can get > bitchy in here too. All the best on the 17th with your biopsy results. > > > Mags >>Thanks Mags, I feel like I know most of you already. I appreciate the 'Welcome.' And thanks >>to all of b you. This group seems a bit different than most Usenet groups. More focused but still down to earth. I can live with that. Smoking really sucks. I'll probably follow up on your tip to a support group. It's pretty much a given when attempting to quit or going the patch route (which I am if I get the guts and it will have to be soon as I would like to start the patches before tx. if any.) re: quitting smoking.. for what it's worth, I went to a hypnotist to quit smoking, and it worked for me. I was very surprised :) but I was about a pack and a half a day smoker (Kools) for almost 30 years. Not even sure I really wanted to quit, I went to the hypnotist, left there totally pissed off, stayed pissed off for about 6 months, but never picked up another cigarette. That was 10 years ago this coming March. Sara > Hi Mags and Maitake. I haven't smoked tobacco since teenhood, so I don't > have much experience with how it affects the bod. But I did a quick [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > the patch route (which I am if I get the guts and it will have to be soon > as I would like to start the patches before tx. if any.) Yeah, as I mentioned in another post..quitting all the other vices. then there is that creative release. That that detaches was from the world of reality. I know it's bad for me, and costs out the a.s. This is really strange as I just found this out. the guy that I used to work with that died of cancer (I mentioned him=m in another thread) He didn't smoke (and died a virgin in his 70's) always told me this plant was what the "Indian's" used as tobacco, so I've been picking it and drying it, and smoking it, to cut the costs down. I just found it on curiosity web search: http://altnature.com/gallery/mullien.htm Wow, don't that beat all? We always called it country boys toilet paper (which is what I did the search using.) or, Johnny Golden Rod. Man, I am definitely going to check this out further. I just read about this while answering this post. Damn and here I've been trying to eradicate it from our yard. I guess old Butchie knew what he was talking about. It don't smoke that bad either. Weird huh? Thanks Kathy, I wouldn't have found this if I wasn't answering your post. Hmmmm. den > Hi Mags and Maitake. I haven't smoked tobacco since teenhood, so I don't > have much experience with how it affects the bod. But I did a quick [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > the patch route (which I am if I get the guts and it will have to be soon > as I would like to start the patches before tx. if any.) > Yeah, as I mentioned in another post..quitting all the other vices. then > there is that creative release. That that detaches was from the world of [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Hmmmm. > den And I wouldn't have found a whole bunch of other interesting verbascum info if I hadn't read this thread. Wow, this stuff grows all over the place here. I normally pull it out as a weed, but keep a couple of plants to tend carefully because they're beautiful-- huge, tall fuzzy things (I can see where the cowboy toilet paper came from). I'm going to do more looking and reading and, if I can be assured that there's no harm to my poor ole beatup liver, I'll be putting *that* in my peace pipe and smoking it <g> Anyway, if anyone wants seeds, I'll have millions... Waterspider Welcome > Welcome John, thank-you Sir. I hope all is well, and best to You and Yours in this Holiday Season. den > Hi, lurking here for well over a year. You are all very informative and > thanks for that. You also seem very close knit and friendly. I thought I [quoted text clipped - 101 lines] > den > (for real, 2005) Hi Maitake, Glad to meetcha! Because you've been a longtime lurker, guess there's no need to explain this weird and wonderful place. As well, I don't think I need to tell you anything about myself because you probably figured me out a long time ago. Your artwork is simply amazing, and a few folks here will especially fall in love with the guitar. Looks like life is good for you with a beautiful family and a beautiful piece of earth to spend your time together on. Sounds like your new doc has the right attitude about your hep, jump right on the thing, seek and destroy. Keep us posted. Thanks for joining us. Waterspider > Hi Maitake, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Waterspider Hi WS, thanks for the Welcome Mat! Not sure if I've figured you or anyone else, including my self out. But, as I mentioned to Mags, I do feel like I know you all and I remember your posts (senile as I am) probably the most. Maybe because you are down to Earth, have a good sense of humor but also honestly brief and to the point. I wish I was that way. Is that really you holding all those Vodka bottles at the family Album page? See, I have been that way ( : One thing I've noticed is how things people write here, come back to me later on. The Nurse told me, "Then the Doctor is going to do what we call..." and I finished for her, saying, "The punch." She said , "yes." and I told her, Alt.support. hepatitis C on the Internet. Then she held my hand. although it was the bed rail I was reaching for (?) Thanks for the compliments on the Family and the Art work. Now take my In-laws...Please. But really, thanks. If you like the Gibson then you will love the Custom Mahogany Doubleneck. http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d78/billgarhead/duoblnk_1.jpg My pieces are like my children to me, and I often wonder what happened to this guitar. The person that had it done, is a very accompliced player if nothing else. But, I've been all through that scene and know it's rough. Still, I think the axe itself will surface someday(?) The Gibson (6 string) I have saved back for my son, needs new pick-ups and I'm shopping for an amp for him. I also have an Alto Sax for him. yet, I'm feeling more and more like learning it myself though. ( - : Maybe I lurked so long because you are right it is a "weird and wonderful place." You are a very encouraging person, (rodger that on the new doc) I'm very pleased to meet you. WS Rock on. and thank you. den "Maitake_man" <lvr_phnx@some.bar> wrote in ... > "Waterspider" <waterspider@moonlight.net> wrote > >> Hi Maitake, [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Maybe because you are down to Earth, have a good sense of humor but also > honestly brief and to the point. I wish I was that way. Thank you for the compliments, but to-the-point honesty is often interpreted (perhaps correctly) as blunt insensitivity... be careful what you wish for <g> Is that really you > holding all those Vodka bottles at the family Album page? Yes, it is I, but all those voddy bottles were a cute PhotoShop trick by a friend who hosted the party. See, I have been > that way ( : I used to drink daily and quite heavily although I never got sloppy-slurry-staggery drunk. Guess I was what they call a functional alcoholic, because I never saw it as a problem until I got sick, then I just stopped drinking and rarely missed it. My favourite poison was wine, but because the local bars sold only cheap, crappy wine, I'd have a "double-voddy-in-a-beer-mug-with-soda-and-a-splash-of-o-j," which would usually shock the hell out of whoever decided to join the table by buying a round. "*How* much was that?!" Lol, the good ole days, the bad good ole days. Can't say that I have any regrets, but staying alive and healthy is way more important to me, and I can't say that I miss much about those bad ole days either. One thing I've noticed is how things people write here, come > back to me later on. The Nurse told me, "Then the Doctor is going to do > what we call..." and I finished for her, saying, "The punch." She said , > "yes." and I told her, Alt.support. hepatitis C on the Internet. Then she > held my hand. although it was the bed rail I was reaching for (?) I live in a relatively tiny village on the southwest coast of BC Canada and the medical field here is pathetic in their knowledge of hepatitis c. Without the excellent information about hepatitis c that I found here, I'm certain that I'd be in dire straits (or worse) today. > Thanks for the compliments on the Family and the Art work. Now take my > In-laws...Please. But really, thanks. If you like the Gibson then you will [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I'm shopping for an amp for him. I also have an Alto Sax for him. yet, I'm > feeling more and more like learning it myself though. ( - : Go for it! I remember some of the guys here on treatment talking about their guitars and, reading between the lines, I think the magic of the music carried them back from the dark side of the moon. An aside (see, I'm worse than you are)... I've always loved music and wanted to learn to play an instrument, ideally a guitar, but there was always something that prevented me from making a point to just do it (I think it's called laziness?). Anyway, a couple of months ago a young friend of mine, quite an accomplished guitar player at 17, offered to teach me. Cool! So he shows up one night with this beautiful old acoustic that had been his grandfather's (Elmo would have swooned over this one), gave me a few basic instructions and hung the thing over my shoulders to try (No, no, don't hold the neck up so high, you're not a fuckin' rock star! LOL!). It immediately became apparent that I could not play the thing, because my arm does not bend in such a way to make it possible to hold my fingers on the strings on the neck of the thing. You see, some years ago I trashed my left arm in a fall (nope, not drinking, but maybe I should have been) and botched surgery left me with a metal rod instead of bone in my forearm and a wrist that only rotates from noon to 3 p.m. rather than 6 a.m. to 3. I adjusted to this limitation quite well and in fact had forgotten about it. "No sweat," says Skinhead (he calls me Hippie), "I'll restring my electric so's you can play it upside down," but he soon after moved to northern Alberta to work in a sawmill. Point is, if you're hearing that guitar calling you, get your sorry a.s off the chair and go for it! Right now, because you never know when the rules change. > Maybe I lurked so long because you are right it is a "weird and wonderful > place." You are a very encouraging person, (rodger that on the new doc) > I'm very pleased to meet you. WS > Rock on. and thank you. Thank you sincerely, Maitake, but wat da fuk are you still doing in front of the stupid puter? Let go of the mouse. Back away from the keyboard. Go see that guitar! And rock on. Waterspider > "Maitake_man" <lvr_phnx@some.bar> wrote in ... >> [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > interpreted (perhaps correctly) as blunt insensitivity... be careful what > you wish for <g> Hey..That is this old Dog's line. <ss> Anyway, you tell it like it is and I haven't seen anything that you have said that I disagree with. So go. > Is that really you >> holding all those Vodka bottles at the family Album page? [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > way more important to me, and I can't say that I miss much about those bad > ole days either. Ah the Vino...my name Dennis..is somehow attributed to that...lover of fine wines or something to the same...I set out to prove that once. now I enjoy (after gallons of Jack and smooth as silk..) an occasional bottle of my favorite German mosul (black cat) That's one reason cigs will be hard for me to quit, man i gave up whoring, booze and doping already. Oh well..and yeah you got the right attitude about alive and healthy. > One thing I've noticed is how things people write here, come >> back to me later on. The Nurse told me, "Then the Doctor is going to do [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Without the excellent information about hepatitis c that I found here, I'm > certain that I'd be in dire straits (or worse) today. And the support, it looks as though you all give out support, that really is most important. I hope it is a circle for you. >> Thanks for the compliments on the Family and the Art work. Now take my >> In-laws...Please. But really, thanks. If you like the Gibson then you [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > of the stupid puter? Let go of the mouse. Back away from the keyboard. Go > see that guitar! ha, I meant the SAXAPHONE, my older brother actually has all the musical talent in the family. He was old enough to finish lessons before the big crash of 61. He tells me i'm tone deaf, and maybe it is true (I kind of do a Hendrix blues thing on strings and i sing like a Bullfrog croaks) but I used to play Coronet in school and the Sax keeps calling to me. One of the many choir voices in the house. maybe that part of TX will be good for me as I might take time to do those things I can't seem to find time for now. But probably not, it will probably be more hectic, just f.cked up more. <kidding> friend. > And rock on. > > Waterspider > Ah the Vino...my name Dennis..is somehow attributed to that...lover of > fine wines or something to the same...I set out to prove that once. now I > enjoy (after gallons of Jack and smooth as silk..) an occasional bottle of > my favorite German mosul (black cat) That's one reason cigs will be hard > for me to quit, man i gave up whoring, booze and doping already. Oh > well..and yeah you got the right attitude about alive and healthy. Except I can't beat the nicotine jones :( Speaking of feline wine, don't know if you read my other post, but someone gave me a bottle of Cat Pee on a Gooseberry Bush. Really. It's a cabernet sauvignon from New Zealand and I think I'll be trying a glass on New Year's eve. >> Thank you sincerely, Maitake, but wat da fuk are you still doing in front >> of the stupid puter? Let go of the mouse. Back away from the keyboard. Go >> see that guitar! > > ha, I meant the SAXAPHONE, Picky, picky! Waterspider > And rock on. Wow, I just read your entry in our guestbook...I am humbled...actually it's the other way around. I'm privileged to meet you. Thank-You. den > Waterspider Hey Maitake Man! Welcome. Lurking for a year - holy cow! We need to come up with some kind of lurker booby prize for you! I'm a fan of the fungi too. Maitake (pronounced my TOCK ee, for the uncool here ;) is very interesting. I'd like to gab about that some time. I'm big on Ganoderma lucidum. Not now though, I'm recovering from the festivities and we're undergoing a big furniture and electronic reconfiguration here so my domestic scene is in an uproar. Martha would hate it. You must know about this website? www.fungi.com Close knit and friendly!? Ha Ha Ha! I'm amazed at how so many levels of communication can come across on a flat screen. There is a tight group here that goes back years. Lots of struggle and compassion. Very beautiful. Later then, Kathy 10 weeks tx to go >Maitake wrote: > Hi, lurking here for well over a year. You are >all very informative and thanks for that. You >also seem very close knit and friendly. Wow,Hi Kathy! I don't even know where to begin on catching up with all these posts, but I'll start with yours and hope I don't leave anyone out. Yeah, lurking for a year...it was strange being diagnosed and then ten years later they decide to start doing a work up. By that time all the newness, the shine had worn off. You know what I mean? I was getting routine 6 month blood draws to the point where it became just that. then she gave me an arm full of Guvt. pamphlets, we all know how entertaining those are (deep 86 now) So I checked in here to see what the real persons had to say about it. After reading the posts and following the links I returned time after time, maybe just to get the occasional lift. After a while I began to wonder what so and so was up to and hoping this person or that was doing ok. I decided to some day jump in a say thanks and Hello, for some reason, who knows what, it was this Holiday season. So, here I am on un-lurk status. Very pleased to meet you! On the shrooms. Cool! Glad to meet another hunter. Here are a couple of my favorite pics: http://tinyurl.com/bwt7k and http://tinyurl.com/9zla9 the orangish one he is holding is what we call the Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus cincinnatus) one of the sulfur's as opposed to the Hen of The Woods (maitake) he actually found those growing right out side our front door at the base of his swing swing tree. Once the bottom of his giant jack-o-Lantern rotted out on the same spot and when he pulled of the lid there was a giant hen that had grown inside. We (I) called the local news and they sent a crew out to do the story. That night when the News came on he was tickled pink! Funny cause the newsguy messed up and said something to his co-anchor about a pumpkin growing inside a mushroom, and kidlet caught his bloop. I see where Google has a place to upload vid's and I'll see if I can get it up sometime,,,but, being a sahd/artist/photog/jackoat's i'm finding I have millions of images and so little time. Which is why you will find me posting this time of morning usually. (and my damn space bar keeps sticking) Now about the Reishi are you from West Coast? I only recently found out about the Turkeytails, wow, all these years I just brushed them aside thinking they were toadstool-ish. And me being part native to boot. My so far greatest mushroom hunting experience was taking my son out last Spring and hunching down with him telling to look in front of us...nothing but 100's of Morels as far as we could see on the Forest floor. He knows how to walk softly and can name all that we find. Which is pretty good for an eight year old. We also fish very much. Ha ha one the furniture and configuring...that is a constant here. (the break in the Hotel over X-mas was appreciated) but, tomorrow (today) I go pick up his new loft Bed. Then off the other direction to get the won from internet auction comforters. I hear you on the "struggle and compassion" maybe my draw to here. Let you know, I agree with your posts and more on that later. Thanks for your Welcome. And you Kathy, kick it into overdrive on your last ten weeks I'll be right behind you. den > Hey Maitake Man! Welcome. Lurking for a year - holy cow! We need to come > up with some kind of lurker booby prize for you! I'm a fan of the fungi [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >> Hi, lurking here for well over a year. You are >all very informative and > thanks for that. You >also seem very close knit and friendly. Hey Den- Amazing to me that you lurked so long, glad you took my advice and kept on posting! The last few days a have been very energetic - no sleep, talk blahblahblahblahblah,etc. A new doc I went to yesterday spent over an hour with me and my wife, Never had that much time with a doc, while I was conscoius,. Even the shrinks cut you off at 45 or 50 minutes. His dx - Mania (obvious to wife - I had kept her up till 3am Blabbing at her the night before). A manic episode probably brought on by my 'Potasium episode' (a different thread in ashc) on 12/17, 3 days after stopping tx, hich was probably a mini-stroke. Having an MRI next month to find out more. put me on Seroquel -I left a message for BCLD will hear back today or he's fired ;). At leaswt I got somes zzzzzzs last nite. My big bro and sis-in-law are w/us til 12/31 so I won't be posting much. For a guy with so much to say I can't imagine how you manage to lurk so long:) BTW - I didn't marry a psycho-therapist. christ. I said my ex was a friggin phsyco (as in maniac).!!!!! Glad to be rid of her - a scourge on the whole planet as far as I can see & still is. My dream bride of 10.5 years is an artist. Keep on posting, sounds like you have a lot to say. Steve > For a guy with so much to say I can't imagine how you manage to lurk so > long:) Who Me? > BTW - I didn't marry a psycho-therapist. christ. I said my ex was a > friggin phsyco (as in maniac).!!!!! Yeah, I hear you. I was talking about you marrying "your favorite bartender." ( - : > Glad to be rid of her - a scourge on the whole planet as far as I can > see & still is. <sarcasm on>Well, I hope you didn't leave it where any of us might catch it<sarcasm off> (-: > My dream bride of 10.5 years is an artist. Now you might have a problem there. (-: > Keep on posting, sounds like you have a lot to say. Who...me? (-; > Steve |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.